Lisette of Whitecross was enormously relieved.
In her rooms at the imperial palace in Carthak, she heaved a great sigh and
collapsed wearily upon the mattress in her bedchamber. Hugging a pillow to
her chest, she wondered again why she was here, spending so much effort for
the sake of a relationship when so many failed anyway.
Lise took the pendant she wore around her neck in her right hand. Silver and shaped as an owl, it glowed a faint white as she called out to the goddess who would be listening.
Mist gathered in the air before her as she watched calmly, surveying the fog with pale blue eyes. The silvery mass gathered closer together and coalesced, forming a human shape that suddenly became reality.
A pale-faced, white-eyed woman stood in place of mist. Her hair was long, and the same shade of pale blonde as Lise's. Tall, magnificent, and commanding, she towered over Lise, her eyes imperious, though they saw nothing, blinded long ago by a different kind of vision - an enormously powerful Sight. Though she could not see her external environment, she could sense it on a different wavelength, and her internal vision was profound.
"My daughter," Shakith said, nodding her head and smiling faintly. Her voice surged with power in a distinctly musical, feminine tone that would have caused the earth itself to shake should she have asked - it was also not unlike Lise's speech.
Lise smiled from the bed, comforted by the goddess of seers who had been her surrogate mother throughout her childhood and her mentor now. "Mother," she said warmly, "thank you for coming."
"You wished to ask me something?" It was a statement more than a question.
Lise nodded. "I wish to know why I am here."
"Were you not compelled?"
"I was." Lise paused for a moment, sighing inwardly. Many of Shakith's answers were too often questions, meant to encourage her own unravelling of what knots she didn't understand. Most of the time, Lise preferred to save herself the thinking and have the answers laid out like a book instead. She smiled ruefully.
"Is that not answer enough?" Shakith inclined her head slightly.
"It was a strange compulsion. I wish to know why the success of this relationship must be procured, when so many others have failed in my area, much less counting those that require the travel of many miles, lying, and deceit!"
Lise pursed her lips in slight frustration. She'd had to lie to the emperor to secure her place at the palace, requesting an imperial audience upon her arrival. Now, Kaddar believed that she was his long-lost cousin six times removed. She had sifted through his memories that had come rushing to the surface on the mention of his mother, and picked out an imperial court visit that he recalled when he was a boy. The fair-haired girl he'd met and befriended was merely a duke's daughter, but when presented with the idea that he was possibly related to this lovely young lady, he'd latched on to it quickly, especially since his mother, Princess Fazia, had passed away the year before.
"It is imperative that their relationship succeed. Is that not the feeling you received?" Shakith asked.
"Yes, but I don't quite understand why it is as such. If I were about to come all this way for an unimportant purpose, I knew you would have intervened, but no intervention came, and now I am here." Lise's brow furrowed. "Such would indicate the possibility of divine interest, and I don't see why."
Shakith reached out a hand and placed it on Lise's shoulder. "The reason for which many things happen is often unknown. Would you agree with me in believing that it does not make those things any less important?"
"I understand that, Mother," Lise conceded, "but it merely causes the enhancement of my belief that I am doing the right thing when I am presented with why something is necessary."
"In that case, child, I can only tell you what I know." The goddess sighed and sat on the bed, her haunted eyes gazing into nothingness. "You are worried, aren't you?" It was another statement disguised as a question. "Your eyes search my visage with the proficiency of a true seer."
Lise couldn't tell if it were a reprimand, for trying to read a goddess when it was evidently the impossible, or a compliment for being well-versed in the practices of those in her line of work. "I am worried," she said instead, knowing Shakith would be able to read her thoughts anyway, "for having been involved in this when the gods themselves are watching."
"You have thought long over this, and how can I deny the truth to my own daughter, when I love her so much?" Shakith mused to herself. "I warn you again, as I have often in the past: the truth is habitually a sharper dagger than ignorance."
"I know, Mother - you made me understand that throughout my childhood as you taught me how to use my Sight. Tell me now," Lise pleaded.
"Very well." Shakith paused. "It will take a little telling. The truth, my daughter, is that this is the very purpose of your life. No, don't interrupt me," she said disapprovingly as Lise opened her mouth to ask a question, once more surprised at how the goddess could see her intention without the use of eyes. "You can learn much by listening.
"Your mother did not die at the hands of raiders. As you galloped away on your horse, she screamed, as you remember. You did not turn for fear of what you would see. When you were over the crest of the hill down which you escaped, your mother killed every one of those raiders with but a single word of power. Juliana of Whitecross is a very great woman. You are about to question my use of is. She lives still, in the Divine Realms, a minor goddess watching over children with the Sight.
"You wonder now why I say she is great. Juliana sacrificed her life in the Mortal Realms for you, Lisette, to fulfill your purpose. She understood that it was necessary to allow you to be raised under my eye alone, to instil in you values and strength that would facilitate the completion of your objective. She was also a powerful mage. She was also my granddaughter."
"What?" Lise exclaimed, unable to conceal her surprise, and not knowing whether or not to accept what had been done or to be angry at the time that had been stolen from her and her mother. Stunned, she hid her face with her hands, trembling.
"Please understand, Lise, that it was necessary - I would not have hurt you so if it weren't."
"I know," Lise said slowly, "that it wouldn't have happened were it not for a reason. But I grieved over her so much all these years. And now that she is a goddess, I'll only be able to see her on the equinoxes and solstices. Am I allowed to see her now that I know she is still alive?"
"Yes," Shakith affirmed. "She will come to you on Midsummer's. I'm sorry," she said then, and wrapped an arm around Lise's shoulders. "What you will do, however, was decided when you were born to be more important than your relationship with Juliana."
Lise bit her lip; tears spilled from her eyes unbidden when she thought of all she'd been through for a purpose she didn't even know of. It was all she could do to speak with a wavering voice. "Yes, I understand."
The goddess nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I hope, that when you have done what it is that needs to be done, you will truly understand."
When Lise said nothing, Shakith resumed. "Thus, you are my great- granddaughter. Have you never wondered why we look so much alike? Your mother was birthed from a woman I created when I foresaw what was to come in the present. I moulded her to resemble me, and her principles were like mine - she was my daughter."
"Grandmother," Lise murmured, wiping her tears away and trying not to think of her mother. "I never met her." Katharine of Whitecross had been an obscure figure of whom Lise had never known anything, save for the repetitive reprimands from her mother. When I was little, my mother never tolerated this, Juliana used to say. Lise smiled ruefully.
"Katharine died holding you, newborn, in her arms. She lives with your mother now," Shakith informed Lise. "But that is beside the point.
"The point is your purpose. I cannot tell you everything, because if you knew what was to happen, it might cause you in the future to act upon different impulses, which could alter what is intended to happen. What I can tell you is that in two months' time, a race between two ultimate fates will begin. Your side is that which the gods support, and the other is comprised of individuals who belong in the deepest, burning pits of hell.
"It will rest on your shoulders to run the race," Shakith continued. "The reason why you possess the Sight is solely because you are the runner. Your duty will be to return a precious treasure to those who are missing it. The treasure will hold information, intelligence that will sway the fate of the world. It is crucial that you win, and the success of the relationship is critical to the winning. The stronger their relationship is, the shorter your course will be, and the easier it will be to win."
Lise waited for more, but realized there wasn't any. "Is that all? Who am I racing against? Why is this crucial?"
"I cannot say," Shakith said emphatically. "All will be revealed in due course." Abruptly, her skin began pulsing with a glowing light that was similar to the mist from which she'd appeared. "I have business to attend to, dear one. I will visit you before the race begins. I ask you not to call upon me until then."
Lise nodded. "I understand. But mother," she added hesitantly. "Do you think - do you think you could tell my mother - my birth mother - your granddaughter - or, Juliana -" She stopped and bit her lip, unsure of proper usage of titles.
"Go on," Shakith said kindly. "I know of whom you speak, and that is what matters."
Lise smiled gratefully. "Please, could you wish her a happy birthday?"
"Of course, and gladly," the goddess answered. She stood, and vanished, a thin, fading cloud of mist serving as the only indicator that she'd ever been present.
Lise shook her head. Shakith had never been any good at farewells. Why bid goodbye, she often said, when my Sight tells me we shall meet again? Dread the day on which I bid you goodbye, for it will only mean that our paths shall not meet again.
Sighing, Lise rose and rummaged through her packs. She changed into a nightdress and washed up. Outside, the moon had risen, and her pale light streamed in through the window. Lise crawled into bed between the covers and cried until her tears ran dry, remembering her mother and her childhood, her body wracked with sobs. Such was the life of a seer, always knowing some of all events that had happened, were happening, and would happen, but being powerless to change most of it. It was helpless that Lise felt now, merely a pawn in the hands of the gods, involved in a game so important and so complex that her mother had sacrificed her mortal life for it. Sleep enveloped Lise in a welcomed embrace, and she drifted into a rest without dreams.
.::.
"Kaddar!" Daine burst.
"Daine!" The emperor abandoned all formality and swept her up into a hug. "How have you been?"
"Splendid," Daine said warmly. "And you?"
Kaddar smiled wryly. "It's been nothing but work here since the destruction of the old palace. I still haven't got my tax and census records straight."
Daine blushed - it was her fault - and rapidly changed the subject. "How's the Hag treating you?"
"Well, I think," Kaddar said, and laughed. "She told me to extend her cordial welcoming to Carthak - she said she paid you a visit before you came."
Daine rolled her eyes. "Very funny of her."
Kitten chirped brightly from the floor, and scampered back and forth at the emperor's feet until he thought to bend down and pick her up.
"Hello, Skysong," Kaddar said, inclining his head.
The dragonet pressed her muzzle to his cheek and trilled happily, poking at his clothes with delicate claws.
"She smells the fruit in my pocket," Kaddar said delightedly, and fished out some grapes, which Kitten ate contentedly while Daine and the emperor grinned.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Numair said gratingly, unable to withstand the smiles that Daine and the emperor were flashing at each other any longer. "I trust we can continue these discussions over supper tonight, when we have all been refreshed from this state of fatigue induced by our travel."
The royal delegation had docked at Carthak a mere hour before, and as it was the middle of May, the weather in the southern lands was truly very hot. Nevertheless, a large crowd of animals had gathered at the docks to meet the Wildmage, who once more had thanked them for welcoming her before dismissing them, as they were making the two-leggers nervous again. The delegation had then boarded a large boat that had taken them from Thak's Gate to the city of Carthak and the imperial palace to greet Kaddar, emperor of Carthak, who had refrained from meeting them at the wharf seeing as the sun was scorching.
The new palace was breathtaking, and it was remarkable that it had even been finished at all in two and a half years. It was one and a half times as large as the previous palace, and the entire structure was of marble with gilded elaboration. The palace grounds were spacious and included the menagerie and acres of gardens and fields for recreation.
Now in the ventilated throne room, it was considerably cooler as formalities were observed and introductions were made. Jonathan and Thayet in royal finery were welcomed extensively, followed by Alanna, the King's Champion, Duke Gareth the Younger of Naxen - his father had stayed in Tortall to manage the kingdom while the monarchs were in Carthak, Numair, Lindhall Reed, returning to check in on the emperor's state, and various other Tortallan officials. The last to be introduced to the emperor, Daine and he had struck up their casual conversation, and much to Numair's dislike, Kaddar was very enthusiastic about her presence.
Abashed, Kaddar rose from his throne and bowed to Daine, who dipped an elegant curtsy and caught Kitten as she leapt into her arms. "Of course, Master SalmalĂn," he said graciously, "I have taken leave of my senses. You will be shown to your rooms," he told the assembly. "I will see you all this evening." He stepped off the raised dais and left the room, flanked by two slaves.
.::.
Daine was concerned. Numair had swept from their rooms almost immediately after ensuring their belongings were present, allegedly going to talk with Lindhall Reed, his former teacher, whose room was down the hallway. He hadn't seemed himself, and had been oddly removed. Sitting on the bed with Kitten on her lap, Daine knitted her brows together, thinking. Kitten chirped reassuringly, and Daine hugged her tightly.
"You can go, Kit, you know?" she told the dragonet. "It's not often we come to Carthak, and I know you want to look around. Go on, you can take care of yourself. I'll be fine."
Kitten whistled and leapt to the floor. In seconds, she'd made it to the main room and opened the door for herself. Daine lay down on top of the sheets and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She was sweating, exhausted, and worried, and she thought briefly about creating a big pool of ice water in which she could soak.
Suddenly, Daine felt a cool hand on her forehead and opened her eyes rapidly.
"Hush, Daine, it's only me."
Lise sat on a stool by the bed, her pale blue eyes kind. She smiled gently and removed her hand.
"Lise - why are you here?" Daine asked, bewildered.
"It's a long story, but it'll suffice to say that I am here on the wishes of Shakith," Lise explained. "My presence is necessary."
"Shakith?"
"She is my mentor. She came to me after my mother died, and gave me this owl necklace that we might be bonded, and it is she who was my teacher when I was young." Lise grinned. "I had to lie to Kaddar to get in here. I'm his cousin, six times removed. Encourage that, won't you?"
"I won't have to," Daine assured her. "Only Numair and I have met you, and I'm sure you'll win everyone over with your exquisite charm." She laughed weakly. Mutely, she decided that it would be best not to ask why Shakith had wanted Lise in Carthak. She would be told if she were to know, and knowledge of the affairs of gods was not divulged lightly.
"He's moping over you and Kaddar," Lise told her. "He didn't like it when you two were talking, and he's gone down to the gardens to take a breather."
Damn it, Daine thought silently. He should be more reasonable than that! "Should I go down and talk to him?" she asked aloud.
"Yes," Lise said, "he would actually like that very much."
"Thank you," Daine said gratefully, "life is much easier when you're around."
.::.
"Isn't it hot out here?" Daine asked cheerfully. She wore a thin, cream- coloured shirt, tan breeches, and a gold tunic.
Numair groaned miserably in his black robe that he'd worn on arrival, one that was sported by only seven mages in the world. He sat on a marble bench in the gardens, shaded by a tree, watching birds in another tree not far away. "Yes, it's sweltering," he agreed.
Daine chuckled, kissed his cheek, and sat down beside him. "I'll make you cooler," she said, and laughing, she created a load of iced water that drenched his robes straight through to his back.
"Daine!" Numair cried, startled. Then he grinned. "Once you get over being surprised, it's really much cooler," he admitted, "but I don't suppose you could dry me off now?"
"I suppose I could." Daine smiled and evaporated the water. "Did you know Lisette of Whitecross is here?"
"The young lady you met at the ball," Numair remembered. "What's she doing here?"
"She's here on the wishes of Shakith," Daine explained, "the goddess you use in your curses all the time." Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith, she thought, the first three words with the greatest potential of coming out of Numair's mouth in the case of any trouble.
Numair laughed, then grew serious. "She didn't say what Shakith asked her to do, did she?"
"No, and I thought it best not to ask," Daine said.
"You thought well," Numair told her approvingly. "As goddess of seers, Shakith does not divulge much information to anyone, for fear that the events of the future that she has seen will not come to pass as they should. This Lisette of Whitecross is most likely one of her pupils, and will have the same tendency. If you ask, she might take offence - it is protocol among seers that only those with the Sight, who have seen the same thing, may have the knowledge of what is about to be. Excess information may pass between teacher and student, but among peers and the Sightless, it is not wise to request anything that has not been given."
"I see." Daine smiled faintly - Numair was such a fountain of information.
Daine! Daine! A familiar mind-voice resounded in her mind. Daine looked around for its source and found it climbing up her leg and into her lap.
"Zek!" Daine exclaimed, as the pygmy marmoset swung up to her shoulder. "How are you?"
Tolerable, he answered blandly. I've stayed with the emperor, and he understands me most of the time, when I don't have to make him. They have others of my kind now, in the caged place, he chattered excitedly.
"The menagerie," Daine murmured. She'd forgotten that she wanted to take a look.
"What is he saying?" Numair asked, holding out a long finger for Zek to hold.
"He says he lives with Kaddar now, that he's happy, that you are a big two- legger, and that he thinks you had an orange not long ago," Daine translated. "An orange?" she asked Zek sceptically.
I'm sure, the marmoset said confidently.
Numair laughed. "He's right," he said, "I took one from the stack in the common room before I left. Bright little fellow," he added, much to Zek's delight.
With a final word, Zek jumped off Daine's shoulder to a nearby hedge and disappeared, saying he had business to attend to and that he'd see her again. Numair took Daine's hand as they rose and walked around the lovely gardens, admiring the aesthetically pleasing foliage and fountains. Daine felt that heartfelt warmth settling around her as it always did when she was with Numair, and was content simply to enjoy his company.
High above them, a pair of inquisitive eyes, lined in paint, looked on. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Kaddar Gazanoi Iliniat, was struck again by Daine's beauty and poise. Such exquisite features could only be characterized by the gods - but then again, he thought, she was the child of Weiryn. It was a pity that she was with a man so much older than herself, and no less than her teacher. He shook his head and stepped back from the window. He'd watch them in the banquet hall tonight, and he promised himself that he'd get in a few words with Veralidaine Sarrasri over their meal.
.::.
As evening drew nigh, Daine donned a light blue dress and a pale silver surcoat, as well as the sapphire drops that Numair had given her for Midwinter a few years back. She tied her hair back into a single long braid to keep it out of her face and off her neck and secured it with a blue ribbon. Numair escorted her to the banquet hall on his arm. Daine thought he looked particularly handsome that night, and thought to herself for the thousandth time that week that she loved him.
"Arram!" a delicate female voice called when they'd reached the doors of the hall amidst a throng of people. "Arram, my dear!"
Daine gritted her teeth as Numair turned around with her to hail the speaker. She knew who it was, and 'unhappy' was the best word she could put to her feelings at seeing her again.
"Lady Kingsford," Numair said politely, inclining his head.
"Varice," Daine murmured distantly, dipping a slight curtsy.
The official imperial hostess' eyes widened as she observed the way Daine and Numair were standing and their appearance, realizing that they were together. "It's lovely to see you again," she said, quieter this time, and faltering.
"Yes, of course," Daine said coldly, before sweeping around on her heel and entering the hall with Numair. Bitch, she thought, he's not for your flirtatious experiments anymore.
They were led by slaves to adjacent seats at the head table, at which all the members of their delegation, Kaddar, and various Carthaki aristocrats were seated, facing the four other long tables that were perpendicular to the main one. Daine found a stool on her left for Kitten, who joined her in a matter of minutes, and smiled at Kaddar's kind courtesy. A minor noble on the other side of Kitten was fascinated by the dragon, and spent most of the meal feeding her various tidbits and asking Daine about her. Numair was captured by a pompous mage on his right who, when not talking about his prowess, was constantly discussing the circumstances of Numair' banishment and subsequent shelter by the Tortallan king. Numair, whose body had not taken the abuse of a long sea voyage very well, could not eat very much, and thus he was slightly bored out of his mind as he passed his plates of food down to palace dogs, summoned by Daine, by sleight of hand.
Following the eight-course meal, the mage continued to chatter, and Numair could not withstand the torture any longer. He excused himself on the pretence of being weary, and left the banquet hall hurriedly before the after-meal entertainment could begin.
The amazing acrobatic display by many tumblers finished, the guests rose to leave the hall. Daine picked Kitten up, balanced her on her hip, and started to make her way out of the doors through crowds of people ogling at the dragonet. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned.
"There's a back door out of this hellhole," Kaddar said quietly into her ear. "If you'll come with me, it'll be much faster."
Daine looked at him gratefully, followed him out a door in the back of the hall concealed by shadows, and found herself out in the gardens. The moon was bright in the night sky, and the stars winked their sparkling light. The air was cool, and Daine felt ferns somewhere on the grounds uncurl to meet an atmosphere not so strained with the daytime sunlight. Kitten cheeped softly and squirmed free of Daine's arms, landing on the ground and scampering off.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. It's beautiful out here, and I must say your new palace is superb," Daine said as she fell in beside him.
Kaddar smiled. "It is an architectural wonder, and the work of my talented builders. It is they you should compliment, not me. I will escort you back to your rooms. And have I mentioned - you are lovely tonight, my dear."
Suddenly Daine could feel the emperor's presence very strongly on her right side. When had it become a custom to walk so close together? she wondered uncomfortably. "Flattery, Kaddar," she said aloud.
"Ah, but no," he breathed, "your radiance quite becomes you." Kaddar stopped their progress with two hands on Daine's waist as they reached a marble bench, shadowed slightly by the looming palace, and looked deep into her eyes.
Daine pushed away her panic. What was he doing! she screamed silently. His face was so close to hers just then, and he was closing the scant distance -
"Kaddar!" a musical voice exclaimed. "Fancy seeing you out here so late!"
Daine pulled quickly away, taking advantage of the distraction, and whirled around. Lise stood there, her sweet smile never having been more welcome than at that moment.
"My dear Lisette," Kaddar said stiffly, regaining his composure after having been startled.
Lise turned her eyes to Daine and nodded her head. "I don't believe we've met. Would you like to introduce us?" she asked Kaddar.
"Why, of course," Kaddar said smoothly, now calmed. "This is Veralidaine Sarrasri, also known as Daine; she is part of the Tortallan delegation. Daine, this is Lisette of Whitecross, a northern Tortallan fief; she is my sixth cousin."
Daine curtsied as Lise did the same. "I take after the northern half of my ancestral lineage," Lise said, "and thus my dear cousin and I look nothing alike."
"Your exquisite manners and person are reflected in each other," Daine said, smiling - though she could not exactly vouch for that in terms of Kaddar's recent behaviour.
"And aren't you well-versed in the social ideas of politeness?" Kaddar chuckled and bowed. "I just remembered - I have to speak with one of my courtiers. Lisette, you know the palace quite well now, don't you? Do you think you could escort Daine back to the guest quarters of the southeast wing?"
Lise nodded. "Of course, cousin. Perhaps she and I will get to know each other as we walk," she offered.
"Thank you, Lisette, and I will see both of you tomorrow." Kaddar bowed and strode away, his strides quick and long. The two ladies stood motionless until he was well out of sight.
"What was that!" Daine burst. "What in the Goddess' name was that!"
"Hush," Lise said rapidly, "there are prying ears everywhere in this bloody palace. Come with me to my rooms; they are warded and safe under Shakith's protection."
Quickly, the two of them walked in silence to Lise's suite in the southern wing. Upon arrival in the darkened main room, they collapsed in chairs.
"I can't thank you enough for coming when you did," Daine said emphatically.
"I understand, Daine. You must understand that the emperor fancies you," Lise added.
"He does not! I was here three years ago and he fancied nothing then," Daine declared.
"Things change with time. What is more is that I see that his affection for you will only increase in the future. Daine, don't look at me as if I've read horoscopes and am basing my inferences from such observations; you know well I have the Sight," Lise chastised when she saw Daine's face.
"Lise, he knows I'm, well, with Numair," Daine said, blushing slightly, "otherwise we wouldn't be in the same rooms. What he did, being so forward - and oh, gods, I am not going to tell Numair!"
"Wise," Lise said approvingly. "It is probably true that he doesn't want to hear of it. Daine, Numair is very protective of you. He will gladly lose his temper over you, and so you must be careful with Kaddar. I cannot stress enough the importance of a peaceful state visit from Tortall to Carthak. If this falls apart, there are plenty of rebel groups south of the capital with leaders who will be more than happy to use the explosion as a reason to once again attack the city." She looked at Daine meaningfully. "You mustn't let this get out of hand."
Daine nodded morosely. "I know, but I don't know what to do, and if Kaddar keeps being like that -"
"Just keep him at an arm's length away," Lise suggested, "and be with Numair or someone like Lady Alanna whenever you can. Or with me," she considered. "Since I am his cousin, and if we make a show of becoming good friends here, he will have a smaller amount of time in which to - pursue you," she finished lamely.
"Yes," Daine said fervently, "that sounds like a very good plan. He doesn't have the right to be touching me like that either!" she spat.
"He does not, but you are an exquisitely charming young woman." Lise raised an eyebrow. "That is his thought at the very moment. And," she continued hesitantly, "Carthak needs an empress - and an heir."
Daine's eyes bulged, and she mockingly made the Sign against evil on her chest. "Mithros forbid. Kaddar should understand that I love Numair."
"Speaking of Numair, it is time you returned to your rooms," Lise advised, "or he'll be worried and pine."
Daine laughed as the two of them stood. Lise showed Daine back to her rooms and they agreed that they'd meet in the common room of the Tortallan delegation's suites for breakfast the next morning.
"Daine? Where were you?" Numair enquired from the bed.
"Talking with Lise," she said as she undressed and washed up, refusing to think of Kaddar. "Has Kit turned up yet?"
A whistle-croak sounded from the bedchamber as Daine observed herself in the bathroom mirror by the light of a conjured ball of fire in her palm, and her sapphire earrings glowed, answering her question. She removed the drops before snuffing out her makeshift light and sliding into bed beside Numair. Long arms snaked around her and pulled her to a warm chest. Smiling, Daine reached up and ran her hands through his wavy black hair, pulling his lips down to hers in a tranquil kiss. She thought briefly that she really wouldn't rather be any other place ever but in Numair's arms as he kissed her until she was giddy and overly deprived of air.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you from the popinjay at supper," Daine murmured sleepily, her head on his chest.
Numair chuckled. "My entire life has been full of such people, sweetling," he assured her, "and one more will only bore me silly, but it won't kill me."
"Mm, nothing would ever kill you, oh great mage." Daine closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep, weariness from the day's events reaching her at last.
Numair studied his beloved's profile, tracing it with a large but gentle thumb, brushing curls away from her closed eyes. She was so beautiful, he thought, and so young. He didn't deserve her - her goodness was so unearthly, divine. He'd do anything for her, die for her, she was worth his life and ten times more. No, Daine, he thought silently, losing you would kill me.
.::.
GAH! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in the longest time. What with homework, extra-curricular exams, tests, and the Stanley Cup playoffs, there has been no time to write.
Numair's Daine: Aw thanks! And I'm sorry this wasn't soon but I'll try harder next time. Oh, and your story with the Emperor Mage rewrite is going really well - it's so good!
Spice: Worse-than-death threats! Forgive this chapter then, and you'll see what happens between them as the story unfolds (:
a_lady_who's_sure: Thank you! And this was late in coming, sorry, sorry, and where the would that emotional angst that is so central to Numair and Daine come from if it weren't from qualms! LoL (:
TamoraFan: Sorry for making you wait, and thanks!
Martini: Crap! I took forever! LoL keep reading! Thanks!
queen of chickens: |: Well, it's too early to even say if their relationship's even gonna work out. But then again, if it doesn't, Spice says I'll be worse than dead.
LadySatine: I'm glad you found it intriguing, and if this qualifies as anywhere near soon, then okay! :: sheepish smile ::
Thanks for reading you guys, and keep reviewing. I'd also like to express my support right now for my hockey team: GO CANUCKS GO! Until next update! (:
Lise took the pendant she wore around her neck in her right hand. Silver and shaped as an owl, it glowed a faint white as she called out to the goddess who would be listening.
Mist gathered in the air before her as she watched calmly, surveying the fog with pale blue eyes. The silvery mass gathered closer together and coalesced, forming a human shape that suddenly became reality.
A pale-faced, white-eyed woman stood in place of mist. Her hair was long, and the same shade of pale blonde as Lise's. Tall, magnificent, and commanding, she towered over Lise, her eyes imperious, though they saw nothing, blinded long ago by a different kind of vision - an enormously powerful Sight. Though she could not see her external environment, she could sense it on a different wavelength, and her internal vision was profound.
"My daughter," Shakith said, nodding her head and smiling faintly. Her voice surged with power in a distinctly musical, feminine tone that would have caused the earth itself to shake should she have asked - it was also not unlike Lise's speech.
Lise smiled from the bed, comforted by the goddess of seers who had been her surrogate mother throughout her childhood and her mentor now. "Mother," she said warmly, "thank you for coming."
"You wished to ask me something?" It was a statement more than a question.
Lise nodded. "I wish to know why I am here."
"Were you not compelled?"
"I was." Lise paused for a moment, sighing inwardly. Many of Shakith's answers were too often questions, meant to encourage her own unravelling of what knots she didn't understand. Most of the time, Lise preferred to save herself the thinking and have the answers laid out like a book instead. She smiled ruefully.
"Is that not answer enough?" Shakith inclined her head slightly.
"It was a strange compulsion. I wish to know why the success of this relationship must be procured, when so many others have failed in my area, much less counting those that require the travel of many miles, lying, and deceit!"
Lise pursed her lips in slight frustration. She'd had to lie to the emperor to secure her place at the palace, requesting an imperial audience upon her arrival. Now, Kaddar believed that she was his long-lost cousin six times removed. She had sifted through his memories that had come rushing to the surface on the mention of his mother, and picked out an imperial court visit that he recalled when he was a boy. The fair-haired girl he'd met and befriended was merely a duke's daughter, but when presented with the idea that he was possibly related to this lovely young lady, he'd latched on to it quickly, especially since his mother, Princess Fazia, had passed away the year before.
"It is imperative that their relationship succeed. Is that not the feeling you received?" Shakith asked.
"Yes, but I don't quite understand why it is as such. If I were about to come all this way for an unimportant purpose, I knew you would have intervened, but no intervention came, and now I am here." Lise's brow furrowed. "Such would indicate the possibility of divine interest, and I don't see why."
Shakith reached out a hand and placed it on Lise's shoulder. "The reason for which many things happen is often unknown. Would you agree with me in believing that it does not make those things any less important?"
"I understand that, Mother," Lise conceded, "but it merely causes the enhancement of my belief that I am doing the right thing when I am presented with why something is necessary."
"In that case, child, I can only tell you what I know." The goddess sighed and sat on the bed, her haunted eyes gazing into nothingness. "You are worried, aren't you?" It was another statement disguised as a question. "Your eyes search my visage with the proficiency of a true seer."
Lise couldn't tell if it were a reprimand, for trying to read a goddess when it was evidently the impossible, or a compliment for being well-versed in the practices of those in her line of work. "I am worried," she said instead, knowing Shakith would be able to read her thoughts anyway, "for having been involved in this when the gods themselves are watching."
"You have thought long over this, and how can I deny the truth to my own daughter, when I love her so much?" Shakith mused to herself. "I warn you again, as I have often in the past: the truth is habitually a sharper dagger than ignorance."
"I know, Mother - you made me understand that throughout my childhood as you taught me how to use my Sight. Tell me now," Lise pleaded.
"Very well." Shakith paused. "It will take a little telling. The truth, my daughter, is that this is the very purpose of your life. No, don't interrupt me," she said disapprovingly as Lise opened her mouth to ask a question, once more surprised at how the goddess could see her intention without the use of eyes. "You can learn much by listening.
"Your mother did not die at the hands of raiders. As you galloped away on your horse, she screamed, as you remember. You did not turn for fear of what you would see. When you were over the crest of the hill down which you escaped, your mother killed every one of those raiders with but a single word of power. Juliana of Whitecross is a very great woman. You are about to question my use of is. She lives still, in the Divine Realms, a minor goddess watching over children with the Sight.
"You wonder now why I say she is great. Juliana sacrificed her life in the Mortal Realms for you, Lisette, to fulfill your purpose. She understood that it was necessary to allow you to be raised under my eye alone, to instil in you values and strength that would facilitate the completion of your objective. She was also a powerful mage. She was also my granddaughter."
"What?" Lise exclaimed, unable to conceal her surprise, and not knowing whether or not to accept what had been done or to be angry at the time that had been stolen from her and her mother. Stunned, she hid her face with her hands, trembling.
"Please understand, Lise, that it was necessary - I would not have hurt you so if it weren't."
"I know," Lise said slowly, "that it wouldn't have happened were it not for a reason. But I grieved over her so much all these years. And now that she is a goddess, I'll only be able to see her on the equinoxes and solstices. Am I allowed to see her now that I know she is still alive?"
"Yes," Shakith affirmed. "She will come to you on Midsummer's. I'm sorry," she said then, and wrapped an arm around Lise's shoulders. "What you will do, however, was decided when you were born to be more important than your relationship with Juliana."
Lise bit her lip; tears spilled from her eyes unbidden when she thought of all she'd been through for a purpose she didn't even know of. It was all she could do to speak with a wavering voice. "Yes, I understand."
The goddess nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I hope, that when you have done what it is that needs to be done, you will truly understand."
When Lise said nothing, Shakith resumed. "Thus, you are my great- granddaughter. Have you never wondered why we look so much alike? Your mother was birthed from a woman I created when I foresaw what was to come in the present. I moulded her to resemble me, and her principles were like mine - she was my daughter."
"Grandmother," Lise murmured, wiping her tears away and trying not to think of her mother. "I never met her." Katharine of Whitecross had been an obscure figure of whom Lise had never known anything, save for the repetitive reprimands from her mother. When I was little, my mother never tolerated this, Juliana used to say. Lise smiled ruefully.
"Katharine died holding you, newborn, in her arms. She lives with your mother now," Shakith informed Lise. "But that is beside the point.
"The point is your purpose. I cannot tell you everything, because if you knew what was to happen, it might cause you in the future to act upon different impulses, which could alter what is intended to happen. What I can tell you is that in two months' time, a race between two ultimate fates will begin. Your side is that which the gods support, and the other is comprised of individuals who belong in the deepest, burning pits of hell.
"It will rest on your shoulders to run the race," Shakith continued. "The reason why you possess the Sight is solely because you are the runner. Your duty will be to return a precious treasure to those who are missing it. The treasure will hold information, intelligence that will sway the fate of the world. It is crucial that you win, and the success of the relationship is critical to the winning. The stronger their relationship is, the shorter your course will be, and the easier it will be to win."
Lise waited for more, but realized there wasn't any. "Is that all? Who am I racing against? Why is this crucial?"
"I cannot say," Shakith said emphatically. "All will be revealed in due course." Abruptly, her skin began pulsing with a glowing light that was similar to the mist from which she'd appeared. "I have business to attend to, dear one. I will visit you before the race begins. I ask you not to call upon me until then."
Lise nodded. "I understand. But mother," she added hesitantly. "Do you think - do you think you could tell my mother - my birth mother - your granddaughter - or, Juliana -" She stopped and bit her lip, unsure of proper usage of titles.
"Go on," Shakith said kindly. "I know of whom you speak, and that is what matters."
Lise smiled gratefully. "Please, could you wish her a happy birthday?"
"Of course, and gladly," the goddess answered. She stood, and vanished, a thin, fading cloud of mist serving as the only indicator that she'd ever been present.
Lise shook her head. Shakith had never been any good at farewells. Why bid goodbye, she often said, when my Sight tells me we shall meet again? Dread the day on which I bid you goodbye, for it will only mean that our paths shall not meet again.
Sighing, Lise rose and rummaged through her packs. She changed into a nightdress and washed up. Outside, the moon had risen, and her pale light streamed in through the window. Lise crawled into bed between the covers and cried until her tears ran dry, remembering her mother and her childhood, her body wracked with sobs. Such was the life of a seer, always knowing some of all events that had happened, were happening, and would happen, but being powerless to change most of it. It was helpless that Lise felt now, merely a pawn in the hands of the gods, involved in a game so important and so complex that her mother had sacrificed her mortal life for it. Sleep enveloped Lise in a welcomed embrace, and she drifted into a rest without dreams.
.::.
"Kaddar!" Daine burst.
"Daine!" The emperor abandoned all formality and swept her up into a hug. "How have you been?"
"Splendid," Daine said warmly. "And you?"
Kaddar smiled wryly. "It's been nothing but work here since the destruction of the old palace. I still haven't got my tax and census records straight."
Daine blushed - it was her fault - and rapidly changed the subject. "How's the Hag treating you?"
"Well, I think," Kaddar said, and laughed. "She told me to extend her cordial welcoming to Carthak - she said she paid you a visit before you came."
Daine rolled her eyes. "Very funny of her."
Kitten chirped brightly from the floor, and scampered back and forth at the emperor's feet until he thought to bend down and pick her up.
"Hello, Skysong," Kaddar said, inclining his head.
The dragonet pressed her muzzle to his cheek and trilled happily, poking at his clothes with delicate claws.
"She smells the fruit in my pocket," Kaddar said delightedly, and fished out some grapes, which Kitten ate contentedly while Daine and the emperor grinned.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Numair said gratingly, unable to withstand the smiles that Daine and the emperor were flashing at each other any longer. "I trust we can continue these discussions over supper tonight, when we have all been refreshed from this state of fatigue induced by our travel."
The royal delegation had docked at Carthak a mere hour before, and as it was the middle of May, the weather in the southern lands was truly very hot. Nevertheless, a large crowd of animals had gathered at the docks to meet the Wildmage, who once more had thanked them for welcoming her before dismissing them, as they were making the two-leggers nervous again. The delegation had then boarded a large boat that had taken them from Thak's Gate to the city of Carthak and the imperial palace to greet Kaddar, emperor of Carthak, who had refrained from meeting them at the wharf seeing as the sun was scorching.
The new palace was breathtaking, and it was remarkable that it had even been finished at all in two and a half years. It was one and a half times as large as the previous palace, and the entire structure was of marble with gilded elaboration. The palace grounds were spacious and included the menagerie and acres of gardens and fields for recreation.
Now in the ventilated throne room, it was considerably cooler as formalities were observed and introductions were made. Jonathan and Thayet in royal finery were welcomed extensively, followed by Alanna, the King's Champion, Duke Gareth the Younger of Naxen - his father had stayed in Tortall to manage the kingdom while the monarchs were in Carthak, Numair, Lindhall Reed, returning to check in on the emperor's state, and various other Tortallan officials. The last to be introduced to the emperor, Daine and he had struck up their casual conversation, and much to Numair's dislike, Kaddar was very enthusiastic about her presence.
Abashed, Kaddar rose from his throne and bowed to Daine, who dipped an elegant curtsy and caught Kitten as she leapt into her arms. "Of course, Master SalmalĂn," he said graciously, "I have taken leave of my senses. You will be shown to your rooms," he told the assembly. "I will see you all this evening." He stepped off the raised dais and left the room, flanked by two slaves.
.::.
Daine was concerned. Numair had swept from their rooms almost immediately after ensuring their belongings were present, allegedly going to talk with Lindhall Reed, his former teacher, whose room was down the hallway. He hadn't seemed himself, and had been oddly removed. Sitting on the bed with Kitten on her lap, Daine knitted her brows together, thinking. Kitten chirped reassuringly, and Daine hugged her tightly.
"You can go, Kit, you know?" she told the dragonet. "It's not often we come to Carthak, and I know you want to look around. Go on, you can take care of yourself. I'll be fine."
Kitten whistled and leapt to the floor. In seconds, she'd made it to the main room and opened the door for herself. Daine lay down on top of the sheets and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She was sweating, exhausted, and worried, and she thought briefly about creating a big pool of ice water in which she could soak.
Suddenly, Daine felt a cool hand on her forehead and opened her eyes rapidly.
"Hush, Daine, it's only me."
Lise sat on a stool by the bed, her pale blue eyes kind. She smiled gently and removed her hand.
"Lise - why are you here?" Daine asked, bewildered.
"It's a long story, but it'll suffice to say that I am here on the wishes of Shakith," Lise explained. "My presence is necessary."
"Shakith?"
"She is my mentor. She came to me after my mother died, and gave me this owl necklace that we might be bonded, and it is she who was my teacher when I was young." Lise grinned. "I had to lie to Kaddar to get in here. I'm his cousin, six times removed. Encourage that, won't you?"
"I won't have to," Daine assured her. "Only Numair and I have met you, and I'm sure you'll win everyone over with your exquisite charm." She laughed weakly. Mutely, she decided that it would be best not to ask why Shakith had wanted Lise in Carthak. She would be told if she were to know, and knowledge of the affairs of gods was not divulged lightly.
"He's moping over you and Kaddar," Lise told her. "He didn't like it when you two were talking, and he's gone down to the gardens to take a breather."
Damn it, Daine thought silently. He should be more reasonable than that! "Should I go down and talk to him?" she asked aloud.
"Yes," Lise said, "he would actually like that very much."
"Thank you," Daine said gratefully, "life is much easier when you're around."
.::.
"Isn't it hot out here?" Daine asked cheerfully. She wore a thin, cream- coloured shirt, tan breeches, and a gold tunic.
Numair groaned miserably in his black robe that he'd worn on arrival, one that was sported by only seven mages in the world. He sat on a marble bench in the gardens, shaded by a tree, watching birds in another tree not far away. "Yes, it's sweltering," he agreed.
Daine chuckled, kissed his cheek, and sat down beside him. "I'll make you cooler," she said, and laughing, she created a load of iced water that drenched his robes straight through to his back.
"Daine!" Numair cried, startled. Then he grinned. "Once you get over being surprised, it's really much cooler," he admitted, "but I don't suppose you could dry me off now?"
"I suppose I could." Daine smiled and evaporated the water. "Did you know Lisette of Whitecross is here?"
"The young lady you met at the ball," Numair remembered. "What's she doing here?"
"She's here on the wishes of Shakith," Daine explained, "the goddess you use in your curses all the time." Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith, she thought, the first three words with the greatest potential of coming out of Numair's mouth in the case of any trouble.
Numair laughed, then grew serious. "She didn't say what Shakith asked her to do, did she?"
"No, and I thought it best not to ask," Daine said.
"You thought well," Numair told her approvingly. "As goddess of seers, Shakith does not divulge much information to anyone, for fear that the events of the future that she has seen will not come to pass as they should. This Lisette of Whitecross is most likely one of her pupils, and will have the same tendency. If you ask, she might take offence - it is protocol among seers that only those with the Sight, who have seen the same thing, may have the knowledge of what is about to be. Excess information may pass between teacher and student, but among peers and the Sightless, it is not wise to request anything that has not been given."
"I see." Daine smiled faintly - Numair was such a fountain of information.
Daine! Daine! A familiar mind-voice resounded in her mind. Daine looked around for its source and found it climbing up her leg and into her lap.
"Zek!" Daine exclaimed, as the pygmy marmoset swung up to her shoulder. "How are you?"
Tolerable, he answered blandly. I've stayed with the emperor, and he understands me most of the time, when I don't have to make him. They have others of my kind now, in the caged place, he chattered excitedly.
"The menagerie," Daine murmured. She'd forgotten that she wanted to take a look.
"What is he saying?" Numair asked, holding out a long finger for Zek to hold.
"He says he lives with Kaddar now, that he's happy, that you are a big two- legger, and that he thinks you had an orange not long ago," Daine translated. "An orange?" she asked Zek sceptically.
I'm sure, the marmoset said confidently.
Numair laughed. "He's right," he said, "I took one from the stack in the common room before I left. Bright little fellow," he added, much to Zek's delight.
With a final word, Zek jumped off Daine's shoulder to a nearby hedge and disappeared, saying he had business to attend to and that he'd see her again. Numair took Daine's hand as they rose and walked around the lovely gardens, admiring the aesthetically pleasing foliage and fountains. Daine felt that heartfelt warmth settling around her as it always did when she was with Numair, and was content simply to enjoy his company.
High above them, a pair of inquisitive eyes, lined in paint, looked on. His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Kaddar Gazanoi Iliniat, was struck again by Daine's beauty and poise. Such exquisite features could only be characterized by the gods - but then again, he thought, she was the child of Weiryn. It was a pity that she was with a man so much older than herself, and no less than her teacher. He shook his head and stepped back from the window. He'd watch them in the banquet hall tonight, and he promised himself that he'd get in a few words with Veralidaine Sarrasri over their meal.
.::.
As evening drew nigh, Daine donned a light blue dress and a pale silver surcoat, as well as the sapphire drops that Numair had given her for Midwinter a few years back. She tied her hair back into a single long braid to keep it out of her face and off her neck and secured it with a blue ribbon. Numair escorted her to the banquet hall on his arm. Daine thought he looked particularly handsome that night, and thought to herself for the thousandth time that week that she loved him.
"Arram!" a delicate female voice called when they'd reached the doors of the hall amidst a throng of people. "Arram, my dear!"
Daine gritted her teeth as Numair turned around with her to hail the speaker. She knew who it was, and 'unhappy' was the best word she could put to her feelings at seeing her again.
"Lady Kingsford," Numair said politely, inclining his head.
"Varice," Daine murmured distantly, dipping a slight curtsy.
The official imperial hostess' eyes widened as she observed the way Daine and Numair were standing and their appearance, realizing that they were together. "It's lovely to see you again," she said, quieter this time, and faltering.
"Yes, of course," Daine said coldly, before sweeping around on her heel and entering the hall with Numair. Bitch, she thought, he's not for your flirtatious experiments anymore.
They were led by slaves to adjacent seats at the head table, at which all the members of their delegation, Kaddar, and various Carthaki aristocrats were seated, facing the four other long tables that were perpendicular to the main one. Daine found a stool on her left for Kitten, who joined her in a matter of minutes, and smiled at Kaddar's kind courtesy. A minor noble on the other side of Kitten was fascinated by the dragon, and spent most of the meal feeding her various tidbits and asking Daine about her. Numair was captured by a pompous mage on his right who, when not talking about his prowess, was constantly discussing the circumstances of Numair' banishment and subsequent shelter by the Tortallan king. Numair, whose body had not taken the abuse of a long sea voyage very well, could not eat very much, and thus he was slightly bored out of his mind as he passed his plates of food down to palace dogs, summoned by Daine, by sleight of hand.
Following the eight-course meal, the mage continued to chatter, and Numair could not withstand the torture any longer. He excused himself on the pretence of being weary, and left the banquet hall hurriedly before the after-meal entertainment could begin.
The amazing acrobatic display by many tumblers finished, the guests rose to leave the hall. Daine picked Kitten up, balanced her on her hip, and started to make her way out of the doors through crowds of people ogling at the dragonet. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned.
"There's a back door out of this hellhole," Kaddar said quietly into her ear. "If you'll come with me, it'll be much faster."
Daine looked at him gratefully, followed him out a door in the back of the hall concealed by shadows, and found herself out in the gardens. The moon was bright in the night sky, and the stars winked their sparkling light. The air was cool, and Daine felt ferns somewhere on the grounds uncurl to meet an atmosphere not so strained with the daytime sunlight. Kitten cheeped softly and squirmed free of Daine's arms, landing on the ground and scampering off.
"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty. It's beautiful out here, and I must say your new palace is superb," Daine said as she fell in beside him.
Kaddar smiled. "It is an architectural wonder, and the work of my talented builders. It is they you should compliment, not me. I will escort you back to your rooms. And have I mentioned - you are lovely tonight, my dear."
Suddenly Daine could feel the emperor's presence very strongly on her right side. When had it become a custom to walk so close together? she wondered uncomfortably. "Flattery, Kaddar," she said aloud.
"Ah, but no," he breathed, "your radiance quite becomes you." Kaddar stopped their progress with two hands on Daine's waist as they reached a marble bench, shadowed slightly by the looming palace, and looked deep into her eyes.
Daine pushed away her panic. What was he doing! she screamed silently. His face was so close to hers just then, and he was closing the scant distance -
"Kaddar!" a musical voice exclaimed. "Fancy seeing you out here so late!"
Daine pulled quickly away, taking advantage of the distraction, and whirled around. Lise stood there, her sweet smile never having been more welcome than at that moment.
"My dear Lisette," Kaddar said stiffly, regaining his composure after having been startled.
Lise turned her eyes to Daine and nodded her head. "I don't believe we've met. Would you like to introduce us?" she asked Kaddar.
"Why, of course," Kaddar said smoothly, now calmed. "This is Veralidaine Sarrasri, also known as Daine; she is part of the Tortallan delegation. Daine, this is Lisette of Whitecross, a northern Tortallan fief; she is my sixth cousin."
Daine curtsied as Lise did the same. "I take after the northern half of my ancestral lineage," Lise said, "and thus my dear cousin and I look nothing alike."
"Your exquisite manners and person are reflected in each other," Daine said, smiling - though she could not exactly vouch for that in terms of Kaddar's recent behaviour.
"And aren't you well-versed in the social ideas of politeness?" Kaddar chuckled and bowed. "I just remembered - I have to speak with one of my courtiers. Lisette, you know the palace quite well now, don't you? Do you think you could escort Daine back to the guest quarters of the southeast wing?"
Lise nodded. "Of course, cousin. Perhaps she and I will get to know each other as we walk," she offered.
"Thank you, Lisette, and I will see both of you tomorrow." Kaddar bowed and strode away, his strides quick and long. The two ladies stood motionless until he was well out of sight.
"What was that!" Daine burst. "What in the Goddess' name was that!"
"Hush," Lise said rapidly, "there are prying ears everywhere in this bloody palace. Come with me to my rooms; they are warded and safe under Shakith's protection."
Quickly, the two of them walked in silence to Lise's suite in the southern wing. Upon arrival in the darkened main room, they collapsed in chairs.
"I can't thank you enough for coming when you did," Daine said emphatically.
"I understand, Daine. You must understand that the emperor fancies you," Lise added.
"He does not! I was here three years ago and he fancied nothing then," Daine declared.
"Things change with time. What is more is that I see that his affection for you will only increase in the future. Daine, don't look at me as if I've read horoscopes and am basing my inferences from such observations; you know well I have the Sight," Lise chastised when she saw Daine's face.
"Lise, he knows I'm, well, with Numair," Daine said, blushing slightly, "otherwise we wouldn't be in the same rooms. What he did, being so forward - and oh, gods, I am not going to tell Numair!"
"Wise," Lise said approvingly. "It is probably true that he doesn't want to hear of it. Daine, Numair is very protective of you. He will gladly lose his temper over you, and so you must be careful with Kaddar. I cannot stress enough the importance of a peaceful state visit from Tortall to Carthak. If this falls apart, there are plenty of rebel groups south of the capital with leaders who will be more than happy to use the explosion as a reason to once again attack the city." She looked at Daine meaningfully. "You mustn't let this get out of hand."
Daine nodded morosely. "I know, but I don't know what to do, and if Kaddar keeps being like that -"
"Just keep him at an arm's length away," Lise suggested, "and be with Numair or someone like Lady Alanna whenever you can. Or with me," she considered. "Since I am his cousin, and if we make a show of becoming good friends here, he will have a smaller amount of time in which to - pursue you," she finished lamely.
"Yes," Daine said fervently, "that sounds like a very good plan. He doesn't have the right to be touching me like that either!" she spat.
"He does not, but you are an exquisitely charming young woman." Lise raised an eyebrow. "That is his thought at the very moment. And," she continued hesitantly, "Carthak needs an empress - and an heir."
Daine's eyes bulged, and she mockingly made the Sign against evil on her chest. "Mithros forbid. Kaddar should understand that I love Numair."
"Speaking of Numair, it is time you returned to your rooms," Lise advised, "or he'll be worried and pine."
Daine laughed as the two of them stood. Lise showed Daine back to her rooms and they agreed that they'd meet in the common room of the Tortallan delegation's suites for breakfast the next morning.
"Daine? Where were you?" Numair enquired from the bed.
"Talking with Lise," she said as she undressed and washed up, refusing to think of Kaddar. "Has Kit turned up yet?"
A whistle-croak sounded from the bedchamber as Daine observed herself in the bathroom mirror by the light of a conjured ball of fire in her palm, and her sapphire earrings glowed, answering her question. She removed the drops before snuffing out her makeshift light and sliding into bed beside Numair. Long arms snaked around her and pulled her to a warm chest. Smiling, Daine reached up and ran her hands through his wavy black hair, pulling his lips down to hers in a tranquil kiss. She thought briefly that she really wouldn't rather be any other place ever but in Numair's arms as he kissed her until she was giddy and overly deprived of air.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you from the popinjay at supper," Daine murmured sleepily, her head on his chest.
Numair chuckled. "My entire life has been full of such people, sweetling," he assured her, "and one more will only bore me silly, but it won't kill me."
"Mm, nothing would ever kill you, oh great mage." Daine closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep, weariness from the day's events reaching her at last.
Numair studied his beloved's profile, tracing it with a large but gentle thumb, brushing curls away from her closed eyes. She was so beautiful, he thought, and so young. He didn't deserve her - her goodness was so unearthly, divine. He'd do anything for her, die for her, she was worth his life and ten times more. No, Daine, he thought silently, losing you would kill me.
.::.
GAH! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in the longest time. What with homework, extra-curricular exams, tests, and the Stanley Cup playoffs, there has been no time to write.
Numair's Daine: Aw thanks! And I'm sorry this wasn't soon but I'll try harder next time. Oh, and your story with the Emperor Mage rewrite is going really well - it's so good!
Spice: Worse-than-death threats! Forgive this chapter then, and you'll see what happens between them as the story unfolds (:
a_lady_who's_sure: Thank you! And this was late in coming, sorry, sorry, and where the would that emotional angst that is so central to Numair and Daine come from if it weren't from qualms! LoL (:
TamoraFan: Sorry for making you wait, and thanks!
Martini: Crap! I took forever! LoL keep reading! Thanks!
queen of chickens: |: Well, it's too early to even say if their relationship's even gonna work out. But then again, if it doesn't, Spice says I'll be worse than dead.
LadySatine: I'm glad you found it intriguing, and if this qualifies as anywhere near soon, then okay! :: sheepish smile ::
Thanks for reading you guys, and keep reviewing. I'd also like to express my support right now for my hockey team: GO CANUCKS GO! Until next update! (:
